By Chris Nicholls
HELSINKI: Nokia has announced fourth quarter sales of EUR 15.7 billion (AU$26.24 billion), with a total of EUR 51.1 billion (AU$85.4 billion) for the 2007 calendar year.
The Finnish company announced global market share reached 40 per cent, up from 39 per cent in the third quarter, thanks to sales of 133.5 million handsets, up 27 per cent year-on-year.
Net profits for the company were EUR 1.8 billion (approximately AU$ 3 billion).
"Nokia’s excellent fourth quarter contributed to a year of high growth and increased profitability for the company, while our industry leading product portfolio drove our device business to an estimated 40% market share in the fourth quarter. At the same time we again increased our quarterly device margins, allowing Nokia to continue to invest for innovation and growth,” said Nokia chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.
However, the company said it expected normal seasonal movements to lead the market downwards for the coming quarter. However, market share was expected to remain at 40 per cent.
For the full calendar year, Nokia expected mobile phone sales to rise 10 per cent from the 1.14 billion estimated for 2007.